Health Beats: July 14, 2010

July 14, 2010 | marketing

Beats this week:

1) Good news out of Washington this week: the Department of Health and Human Services released their final guidelines for ‘meaningful use’ of electronic medical records (EMR) and the general consensus is that these guidelines are much more realistic than what the Obama Administration originally proposed. Example: the proposed guidelines required that 70% of prescriptions had to be transmitted electronically as one measure that would allow a doctor to receive a federal bonus; the new guidelines require 40%. Stay tuned to Beats Per Minute in the coming months as we talk more about meaningful use and what Erie is doing to achieve these new standards.

2) First the Minute Clinic and now fresh produce? Looks like CVS and Walgreens stores are moving to become the premier grocery provider for communities in Chicago that are without grocery stores (often know as ‘food deserts) by offering expanded fresh produce sections. Cue the pros and cons discussion!

3) The details of the Cook County health system overhaul are continuing to unfold. New information emerged this week on some key moves to be made, including changing Oak Forest Hospital into a regional outpatient center, essentially discontinuing its inpatient services. Read more about the upcoming changes here.

4) A study was released this week that took a look at the impact children experience when their parents lose their jobs. The results were astonishing: almost one in three children completely lost insurance coverage when their parent was let go from their job. The rate is even higher when measuring children from low-income families. While most were then eligible for state-assisted insurance programs, many experienced gaps in coverage.